Inserting television advertising spots automatically

Abstract

A downlink dish receives television signals from a remote location transmitted by satellite. Satellite receivers demodulate these received signals and normally transmit them through a switch to modulators which modulate respective carrier signals to retransmit the remote program video signals over a cable to subscribers. The switch also transmits the demodulated signals to tone monitors that detect a tone indicating the beginning of a spot message interval. A computer control responds to these detected signals to enable one or more video tape machines to deliver recorded spot messages to a time base corrector that also receives portions of the program video signal adjacent the spot message interval from the switch. The time base corrector delivers the time-base-corrected video signals through the switch to the modulators for modulating a selected carrier signal with program video signals and spot message signals without flicker. The computer control also enables tape monitors to record the spot messages when they are transmitted with information on the time and channel of transmission in support of billing. A data entry means furnishes information signals to the computer control for properly scheduling the rescheduling the transmission of spot messages.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. In a television transmitting system for retransmitting program video signals from a remote location having spot signals to indicate the beginning of a spot message interval in which the remote video program signal is interrupted for allowing local transmission of spot message video signals the improvement comprising, spot message storage means for storing a plurality of spot messages for transmission during spot message intervals,   computer control means responsive to said spot message start signals for selectively transferring a predetermined sequence of said stored spot messages for transmission during a spot message interval,   said computer control means comprising means for rescheduling transmission of sequences of said stored spot messages in response to spot signals occurring at times different from prescheduled times entered in said computer control means for effecting insertion of said recorded spot messages in spot message intervals in accordance with a new schedule.   
     
     
       2. The improvement in accordance with claim 1 wherein said spot message storage means comprises a plurality of video tape machines each having a video tape recording of all selectable spot messages for transmission in the same order whereby said computer control means may select any spot message from any of said video tape machines and ready a sequence of spot messages for transmission during a future spot message interval by identifying a particular one of said video tape machines to provide a particular spot message signal during said next spot message interval and provide address signals so that each video tape machine selected to provide a spot message signal during the next spot message interval may move the video tape recording thereon to a position with the start of the selected spot message for that video tape machine positioned for being read out immediately upon selection by said computer control means during said next spot message interval. 
     
     
       3. A method of creating a master spot message tape on a video tape recording machine which method includes the steps of, leaving an interval of unrecorded video tape for a predetermined length at the beginning of the tape to create a snow interval thereon,   recording color black including television synchronization signals while simultaneously recording on a predetermined audio channel a predetermined longitudinal time code, thereafter inserting frame-accurate video signals with longitudinal time code editing equipment responsive to the predetermined longitudinal time code recorded on said predetermined longitudinal time code recorded on said predetermined audio channel to create a plurality of message slots each comprising a sequence of black frames with said recorded video synchronization signals the first of which carries a predetermined signal identifying the beginning of the slot.   
     
     
       4. A method of creating a master tape in accordance with claim 3 wherein said step of recording color black with television synchronization signals includes recording vertical and horizontal synchronization pulses and the color burst synchronizing signal. 
     
     
       5. A method for duplicating the master tape created by the method of claim 3 which method includes the steps of, placing said master tape on a video tape playback machine,   placing an unrecorded video tape on a video tape recording machine,   creating an initial unrecorded interval on said unrecorded tape for said predetermined initial length and at this location putting said recording video tape machine in both the play and pause condition,   simultaneously putting the playback video tape machine in play while placing the recording video tape machine in both record and play period to create a copied master tape in said recording video tape machine.   
     
     
       6. A method of inserting spots into the slots of a master tape having the slots of the master tapes of claim 5 which method includes the steps of placing a master tape on a recording video tape machine, playing back the master tape thereon and observing the video picture produced thereby on a television picture tube to identify the first frame of a message slot by observing said predetermined reference signal,   and commencing recording a message spot signal a predetermined number of frames after said first frame and repeating the previous steps until a plurality of spot messages are recorded thereon, the total time interval of said spot messages recorded in said slots being greater than said predetermined spot time interval.   
     
     
       7. A method in accordance with claim 6 and further including the step of duplicating the spot message tape created in accordance with the method of claim 6.